


A Very Merry Rebirthday

by Omorka



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Gen, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-28
Updated: 2009-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-05 09:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorka/pseuds/Omorka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura makes two magical discoveries when Kero disappears without warning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Very Merry Rebirthday

**Author's Note:**

> Anime continuity, spoilers through the second movie. I have Americanized the language somewhat and used honorifics only where they distinguish between two forms of the same being, although I left the names in the Asian format. I apologize for this, but if I tried to use all the honorifics where they belonged I was going to screw up somewhere. Mentions Syaoran/Sakura and Touya/Yukito(/Yue), but not fundamentally about the romantic relationships, so I left this labeled as gen.

"Anh," Sakura yawned, tapping the alarm clock and stretching. It was warm this morning, warm enough to make her still feel sleepy, even though she'd gotten to bed at a reasonable hour for once. Late summer sunlight streamed through her window, lending a soft golden glow to her backpack, her bicycle helmet, the swollen encrustation on her desk -

\- wait, what?

"Eeeeh!" she shouted, leaping out of bed and nearly tripping over the tangle of sheets. One hand went to the Star Key; the other grabbed her chair to keep her on her feet.

A hard, shiny oval of something that looked a little like dark amber, or maybe a blob of frozen honey, took up most of her desk calendar. It was about half the size of a soccer ball. She reached out to touch it with one finger; it was warm, body-temperature.

It felt . . . alive.

"Sakura?" called her father's voice at her door. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine, Dad," she called back, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I just nearly tripped over my covers getting out of bed." It wasn't a lie; it just omitted part of the truth.

She waited for his footsteps to echo down the hall again, then glanced around. "Kero-chan? Do you know what this is?"

No answer. She curled her right hand around the key, and held her left over the glob. It felt magical; she was sure she felt light magic, and thought she felt earth and fire magic in it, but even after years of working with the Clow Cards (or the Sakura Cards now), she had trouble telling sometimes.

"Kero-chan? Where are you?" She glanced around. His little plushie form was nowhere to be seen.

She picked up her cell phone and debated whom to call first. She settled on the person who would be the least likely to be able to do more than she could, but would be here the fastest.

"Hey, Tomoyo? Good morning! Um, I have something I need to bring in with me, and I'm not sure taking it on the bike is a great idea. Can you have your driver come by and pick me up on your way to school?"

\---

"Hmm," Tomoyo mused. "It's a very pretty color, Sakura; it matches your eyes."

Sakura scratched her head. "I just don't know what it could be, and Kero's goofing off somewhere, so I couldn't ask him." The music room at Seijou High School was more or less Tomoyo's own private kingdom; she ate lunch there more often than not, and Sakura joined her whenever she didn't have cheerleading activities. Sakura worried a little bit that someone might wander in looking for Tomoyo, but her best friend assured her that they wouldn't be disturbed.

The lump lay on a piano bench, catching the lights overhead in a way that made it look as if it were glowing gently. It wasn't really - they'd taken it into a closet to check - but the effect added something to its mystery.

Sakura toyed with her phone. "Syaoran, Yue, or Eriol?"

"Eriol won't be up yet," Tomoyo answered, glancing at her watch. "And Yue won't be able to come here during school hours, anyway."

Sakura blushed a bit. "All right, Syaoran, then." It was expensive, calling Hong Kong, but calling London was even pricier. Tomoyo smiled and handed her cell phone over; she'd thought of that, too. Of course she had.

"Wait, won't he be in class, too?" Sakura realized as soon as she'd dialed. But he answered anyway. "Li Syaoran here. What's the matter, Tomoyo?"

"Actually, it's me," Sakura admitted. "I, uh, I woke up this morning and there was this gob on my desk, and it feels like magic." She described the object, or tried to; explaining magic-feeling, even to someone else who did it, was always difficult. She felt like she needed words that didn't exist; maybe they had back in the days of legends, but if so, they'd been lost.

Syaoran sounded a little frustrated, too. "That doesn't sound like anything I know. What does the Sun Guardian have to say about it?"

"Nothing. He wasn't around this morning." Sakura frowned. "You don't think he's scared of it, do you?"

"If he were, he wouldn't let you out of his sight," Syaoran responded. "Go see Yue as soon as school lets out, and then call me back; I'll ask Mother if she knows anything about it." Syaoran's mother wasn't just a formidable woman, although she was certainly that; she also knew more about Clow's magic than anyone in the world except Eriol. Sakura felt reassured; surely she would have some idea what this was and what to do.

"Okay. I'm sorry to have interrupted your school day. Take care!" Sakura felt like she should add something - she and Syaoran were sort of long-distance dating, after all - but she felt a little strange doing so on Tomoyo's cellular.

"You be careful." Syaoran's voice was guarded as he got off the phone.

\---

The last bell chimed, and Sakura slipped her shoes back on. She was grateful that she didn't have cheer practice today. While she was pretty sure Tomoyo was supposed to be practicing with the choir, she assured Sakura that they could get along without her just this once.

"After all," she smiled, climbing into the car behind her driver, "so little magic has been happening lately; I wouldn't want to miss any chance to see you in action again."

Sakura looked embarrassed. "You haven't been making costumes, have you?"

"Just one!" Tomoyo announced, winking. "I decided that quality was better than quantity."

Sakura tilted her head back against the seat cushions and groaned. "Kero-chan, where are you?" she whispered. "Where have you gotten yourself to now?"

Tomoyo's eyes fell to the resinous mass in Sakura's bag. "Is that bigger than it was this morning?" she asked, prodding it lightly with one finger.

"No, it can't be," Sakura protested. Then she looked at it more closely. "Can it?" She slipped it part-way out of her backpack. When she'd packed it up this morning, it and her books all fit with a little room to spare. When she'd stowed her books at the end of the day, she'd had to rearrange things a bit, but she'd thought that was just because of her homework. Now the fit was distinctly snug - she wasn't sure she could zip it up the rest of the way.

Fortunately, Touya's and Yukito's apartment wasn't that far from the school. Yukito was in graduate school full-time, studying ancient history; Touya was taking two graduate classes and working twenty-five hours a week at his usual assemblage of part-time jobs. Sakura wasn't sure if he'd be home yet or not; she'd texted Yukito, and he'd assured her that he was, but she felt a little odd going to see Yue at their place, especially if her big brother wasn't around. He didn't seem to trust the Moon Guardian around her, and she didn't know why, except that Yue's being around mean that Yukito wasn't.

When she and Tomoyo climbed out of the car at the apartment building, the backpack was distinctly heavier. She slung it over one shoulder while Tomoyo gave the gate the code to get in. By the time they'd climbed the stairs to the second floor, it felt like it was growing more massive with each step.

Yukito answered the door before they could even knock. "Please, come on in. Yue felt you coming. He's really worried." He closed the door behind them; Sakura set the backpack on the low table in the den. "Not that he'd admit it," Yukito smiled. "Should I change now?"

"Wait just a minute," Sakura said. "Let me get this out first." She wrestled with the flap on the bag; the gob was catching on it. She undid the zipper all the way, peeled the stiff fabric back, and set the encrustation on the table. "Do you have any idea what this is, Yukito?"

He sat down on the couch and ran one pale hand over it. "It's warm. It feels alive." A small smile trickled across his face. "You'd be better off asking Touya. Even with only a tiny speck of his magic grown back, he's better at this than I am. I've asked him and Yue to teach me, but I don't think Yue really wants to."

"It really is coming back, though. He's started to know when I'm in trouble again." Sakura sat cross-legged on the floor and leaned on the table, eyes level with the glob. "I'm glad. I felt so bad when - well, you remember better than I do." She blushed, still ashamed that her magic hadn't been strong enough to save Yukito.

"It wasn't your fault," chorused Tomoyo and Yukito together. They glanced at each other, locked eyes, and smiled again.

"No, I know, but I still felt sad for him." Sakura turned the blob halfway around. "I guess it's time to ask Yue. Um, Yukito, could you - "

A flash of blue-white light and a flurry of feathered wings interrupted her. The wings parted to reveal the tall form of the Moon Guardian.

He looked worried. Sakura wasn't sure she'd seen that before.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked, not sure if he would offer an opinion unprompted.

"It's a chrysalis. A magical container for metamorphosis." He looked at it sideways. "And we really ought to put it in the window, at least until sunset. He - it will need sunlight."

"He?" Tomoyo beat Sakura to the question.

"Keroberos." Yue scooped the amber blob off of the table; it looked small in his long hands, but it was definitely bigger than a soccer ball now.

"Ah, what?" Sakura's head suddenly felt lighter. "You mean, Kero-chan's in _that_?"

Yue moved one of the kitchen chairs in front of the sliding glass door to the balcony and set the cocoon on it. "In a way. It might be more accurate to say that 'Kero-chan' has turned into that, and will soon turn into someone else."

Tomoyo looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. Sakura just looked confused. Yue sighed. "The false form Keroberos wears as 'Kero-chan' is becoming less useful to you. A high school junior carrying around a plush animal is childish, although Touya claims that your friends might find it cute. But will you cart him around in your backpack like that through college?"

"I hadn't thought about it," Sakura admitted. "I guess I thought he'd just keep hiding, like he always has."

"It is in the nature of the moon to hide, from time to time. It is not in the nature of the sun, even when there are clouds. He, in particular, has never been very good at it. As you grow stronger in your magic, it will become harder for him to remember, if he retains that form. And so it has become time for him to take another one." Yue set a hand on the chrysalis as if to steady it.

Tomoyo was still looking at the ceiling. "It wasn't so long ago for you, was it?"

Yue raised one eyebrow. "No. Certainly not long enough to forget."

Sakura's eyes got big. "You mean, Yukito - "

"Came from something very similar. Larger, of course. And silver instead of dark gold." Yue's hand slid across the surface as if he were petting it.

Sakura thought about that. "Did you have another second form - before?"

Yue's eyes darkened. "I do not remember."

Tomoyo finally looked back at Sakura. "I will be sorry to see Kero-chan's current form go, but I am very curious how he will look now." She paused, looking at Yue. "Perhaps a cat? Then both his mundane form and Yue's will resemble their true forms in the same way. It would be very . . . symmetrical?"

Yue drew his hand back and shook his head. "I cannot tell. I do not even remember how much choice I had in creating Yukito. In some ways, he _wanted_ to happen."

"I'm very glad he did," Sakura murmured. Then she straightened up. "And I'll be happy to meet Kero's new form, no matter what he looks like!" The confusion and concern on her face fell away, and she stood up, determination in the set of her jaw. "We should get a party ready for him when he comes out!"

"Oh, excellent!" Tomoyo clapped her hands. "I know just the baker for his rebirthday cake!"

"Uh, Yue, how long will this take?" Sakura turned back to the Moon Guardian. "I mean, before he comes back out?"

Yue brought one long-fingered hand to his forehead. "I . . . can't remember."

Sakura glanced at him, then at Tomoyo, worry beginning to crease her forehead again. Tomoyo dug her cell phone out of her purse. "I think it's time to ask the expert," she said, still smiling.

\---

"Two months?!" Sakura yelped into the phone.

"I'm afraid so," Eriol answered. "At least, when Spinel Sun went through the same process earlier this summer, that is how long he took. They were created through the same process, so it should be about the same for Keroberos."

"Two months without Kero, in either form," she sighed. "I miss him already!"

"What does he look like now?" asked Tomoyo over Sakura's shoulder.

"His new faux form is a pure black house-cat. I can take a photo and e-mail it to you," Eriol offered.

"I would like that very much, thank you," Tomoyo agreed. "Can he still speak?"

"Of course I can speak," muttered a voice that was close to Suppie's old voice, but lower. "What good would I be as a guardian if I couldn't talk?"

"I'm sure you'd be a fine guardian no matter what," Tomoyo assured him. The dark solar guardian didn't answer, but they heard something like a purr.

Sakura fidgeted. "Is there anything we should do while he's in there?"

"Keep him warm and let him get lots of sunlight," the young wizard instructed. "If you can take the chrysalis outside once in a while, it will be helpful. Other than that, the transformation should be able to take its course on its own." He paused; Ruby Moon said something inaudible in the background that earned a growl from Spinel Sun. "When he emerges, will you please let me know? I confess to being curious what his new form will be."

"Of course," Sakura said. "You'll be the first to know."

"In fact, I have some ideas about that," added Tomoyo. "But I'll have to see if the camera works first."

"Then I shall leave you to it. Good luck," Eriol said, and disconnected without waiting for Sakura to say good-bye.

"I guess I should call Syaoran back and let him know," Sakura mused.

"Let him know what?" asked Touya from directly behind Sakura; she squeaked and jumped a foot in the air. "And what's that blob doing in the dining room?"

"My counterpart is undergoing a metamorphosis," Yukito answered from the kitchen. "It's really quite fascinating, when you think about it." He leaned close enough to the cocoon to see his reflection in it, and smiled softly. "Apparently when Yue took me on as his form-in-hiding, I emerged from something very much like this."

"Really," Touya muttered. He didn't look very happy about the idea; his eyes skated the amber surface of the glob mistrustfully. "So the toy's in here? What's he changing into?"

"Well, guessing based on the information available, we think he's becoming a cat," Tomoyo offered. "But really, it's still a bit up in the air."

Touya's scowl deepened. "So he could be turning into a bear in there? Or something else dangerous?"

"Technically, he's dangerous no matter what he looks like," Tomoyo reminded him.

"No, he's not! I mean, he's - I guess he's dangerous just because he's a magical guardian, but he'd never hurt anyone!" Sakura balled up her fists and planted them on her hips. "If he decides to become a bear, I'm sure he'll be a very gentle bear."

"I don't think he gets to decide, exactly," Yukito mused. "Yue doesn't seem to remember very much about it - he sort of went into hibernation after Clow died - but I get the distinct impression that, if he had been able to choose, he wouldn't have chosen, well, me."

"Then he's a fool," growled Touya, curling an arm around his friend and partner. "You're worth a dozen of him."

"It doesn't work like that, as you well know," teased Yukito, but he leaned his head back into Touya's shoulder with a satisfied grin.

"Mmm," Touya replied, still watching the golden blob. A few strands of light played deep in its interior; whether they were reflections or actually came from the chrysalis was impossible to say. "Sakura, I think you'd better leave it here."

"But why? It's my responsibility to take care of Kero-chan!" One of her hands closed around the key. "It's my responsibility to take care of all of Clow's magic that he left, all the cards and the guardians too. I have to be strong for them."

Touya nodded. "I'm not saying you can't. I just don't think you should keep this where you'll have to explain it to Dad. He's had a hard enough time with all this as it is, and there's no telling how big this will get."

Sakura looked at the floor. Touya was right - while their father had been kind and understanding about the whole magic thing, when he finally discovered what had been going on, he still didn't understand it or fully trust it. Having something like this growing in his house might make him uncomfortable again.

She sighed. "Okay. But you can't poke fun at him when I'm not here. I don't want him coming out with a complex."

"Of course not," her brother promised solemnly. "I'll only poke fun at him when you're here to supervise."

"Meanie," she grumbled. Tomoyo smiled as if that settled the matter, and handed Sakura her cell phone for the third time that day. "I'm so glad Mother got me the international plan," she murmured as Sakura reluctantly took it.

\---

She realized, much later, that Tomoyo and Syaoran had suspected something like this might happen. In contrast, Sakura, with her optimistic outlook, was caught completely off-guard when her phone rang at 2 am. The voice on the other end was Touya's. "Sakura, get over here, as fast as you can. Yuki, I mean, Yue's got things under control but I don't know how long that'll keep up." He'd hung up before she could get a question out. She'd sent Tomoyo a text message and thrown on the first clothes that came to hand.

The wings of the _Fly_ card were speeding her to their apartment as she scanned the ground, looking for trouble. It was her magic sense that prickled first - it felt large, hot, and scared. She didn't see anything until she was almost on their roof; then the occasional flashes of light from their window resolved into the residue of a magical battle. Fortunately, the window was open.

"_Windy_!" Sakura changed cards and sent her most trusted battle-spirit in ahead of her. The air elemental soared through the window as Sakura dropped onto the balcony and slid the screen door open. A flurry of papers and disposable chopsticks blew past her as her card circled the room.

Yue was crouched on the dining room table, beams of white light flaring from his fingers. Touya was underneath the table, practically crawling on the floor, his body curled around the chrysalis; he clutched a baseball bat in his right hand and was poking at their intruder with it.

In front of them was a fuzzy shape, made of dust and shadow. It had no visible eyes, or even a mouth, although it did have four legs and at least a suggestion of a head. It swiped one appendage - whether that was a hand or a paw was impossible to tell - at Touya and was shoved back by another bolt from Yue.

"Oh, no wonder _Windy_ couldn't do anything; it's barely solid," Sakura said out loud. "Let's try _Shadow_!" She switched out the cards with one move - she'd practiced that maneuver with Syaoran over and over when she'd visited Hong Kong again - and the formless shade poured out towards the intruder.

Well, that worked better. Her living shadow flowed around the other one and formed a wall between it and the table, protecting Touya and Yue and Kero-chan. It didn't seem to be able to capture it, though - just contain it. Maybe they were too similar? She edged closer.

Yue leaped over the shadow-wall. "We mustn't allow it to escape. It will keep coming back if it isn't contained."

"Right." Sakura gestured with the wand, and her shade-familiar curtained the exits. "But how do I catch it? It's not a card!"

"You'll have to destroy it," Yue answered, his hands a blazing fan of moonlight. "I can weaken it for you, but I can't force it to dissolve."

"Destroy it?" Sakura bit her lip. She didn't think she could do that, and she wasn't sure she wanted to even if she knew how.

The thing rolled over backwards and flung itself away from Yue, towards her. She grabbed a wisp of her own shadow and pulled it into a sheet, tossing it at the intruder. For a moment, she thought she'd caught it, but it kicked off the momentary tarpaulin and scuttled away again.

Another blast from Yue drove it back towards her. "Use _Light_," he called. "It won't be able to withstand it."

"Your own light would be better," called Touya from under the table.

"What?" she yelled back at her brother, dodging as the phantom stampeded past her.

"Sakura, you're just as strong as Clow, no matter what the towhead there says," Touya shouted back, his voice muffled by the substantial shadows in the way. "I think you can do it."

"Do what?" she asked. The intruder flung itself against the body of _Shadow_, and the card-spirit fell back.

"Capture it," her brother called back. Yue shot a glance at him, and the phantom took that moment to charge; it bowled the moon-guardian over in a flurry of feathers and dark grey dust.

"Yue!" she cried, turning towards the advancing thing. She inhaled sharply, and her eyebrows drew together in concentration.

"I have to," she whispered to herself, "to keep Kero-chan safe."

The spirit gathered itself and vaulted from the floor directly at her. She swung out the wand. "_Firey!_" Chains of flame shot out and curled around the thing, holding it off the floor. The room smelled like someone had just turned on a heater for the first time in winter.

The phantom struggled. She stepped forward. "You just wanted the energy, didn't you?" she murmured. "You felt Kero-chan taking another shape, and you wanted one, too." It stopped kicking; its head turned to face hers, as if it could see her despite its lack of eyes.

"You need to -" began Yue.

"You hush. Sakura, think back to what the brat told you to do," Touya interrupted.

"We never really finished," Sakura admitted. "But I'll do my best!" She lowered the wand. "Wandering spirit, alone in the world, I offer you a contract. In exchange for a form and my protection, will you agree to be bound by me?"

_Firey_ let go; the contract would not be binding if the spirit was forced into it. The dusty shape collected itself, then drew itself up and nodded slowly.

"Spirit of the world, take the shape of a new card under your master, Kinomoto Sakura. I bind you to this form, _Dust!_" She brought down the wand sharply, and the spirit lost its cohesion, streaming into the space at the tip of the star. The dust motes collected, sparkled, and coalesced into a new card.

On the front was a creature halfway between a pig and a human; a cloud of dust floated behind it. The words _The Dust_ were written across the bottom.

"Turn it so I can see it," pleaded Tomoyo's voice from the doorway. Sakura looked up to see her friend holding a video camera.

"You made it," she smiled uneasily.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything. Just think, you just created a new Sakura card! Imagine how sad I'd be if I'd failed to capture that on film." Tomoyo's eyes shone like stars in the dark room.

"Good job, little monster," said Touya. "Could someone please help me up? My back stiffened up about ten minutes ago."

"Just as soon as I take a little nap," yawned Sakura. She sank to her knees; Yue caught her before she hit the floor.

"That drained her completely. She's not ready for that level of magic yet; she'll be exhausted tomorrow," the Moon Guardian scolded Touya.

"And she'd be devastated if she destroyed anything, even an unfriendly spirit," countered Touya. "Besides, without your counterpart around, she needs to learn new ways to defend herself."

"And what if something else comes after the Sun Guardian while he and she are both helpless?" Yue snapped back.

Tomoyo glanced at Touya, and went to help him up. "You _knew_ this was going to happen, didn't you? That's why you told her to keep it here - so you and Yue could stand guard over it instead of her."

Touya looked away as he struggled stiffly to his feet. "I - yeah, I saw it."

Suddenly he was being hugged. "I'm so glad!" she smiled. "Your abilities really are returning, aren't they? Sakura said she thought they were, but -"

"They'll never be as good as they used to be," he mumbled, "but yeah, I'm starting to see and feel things again, at least." He shook himself, and she stepped lightly away. "And we need to get Sakura home."

"I'll take care of her." Yue gathered the sleeping sorceress into his arms, stepped out onto the porch, and soared off into the night.

\---

Tomoyo carefully arranged her laptop on the buffet. "Can you see all right?" she asked the microphone, as she pointed a web-cam at the sofa.

"Sure," came Syaoran's tinny voice from the speakers, just before Eriol's responded "The view is fine; thank you, Miss Daidouji."

Sakura tugged at her skirt. "I hope he's really ready," she said, touching the amber glob. A golden mist swirled inside, like slow-motion fireworks. It was now approximately the size of a pair of beach-balls mashed together.

"He is," smiled Yukito. "I can feel him. Or, rather, Yue can."

"And there's plenty of cake for when he makes his appearance," Tomoyo added, pouring herself a glass of punch. The dining room table held not only a triple-layer cake, decorated with cherries and cream cheese frosting, but several trays of bite-sized desserts. The Daidoujis had a very good caterer.

As if summoned by the promise of pastry, the chrysalis trembled. A tiny crack appeared in one end, spilling a gentle golden light across the sofa cushions.

"Here he comes!" Sakura shouted. She leaned forwards as the heavy shell began to split.

One feather poked out of the crack, wedging it open a bit further. Then a pair of wings, huge golden expanses of feathers, spread and pushed the two halves of the shell apart. It rocked, shuddered, and then split with a sound like breaking stone. The wings curled around and enveloped the figure within, then unfolded and withdrew.

Sitting cross-legged in the bottom half of the shell was a boy; he looked to be about eleven or twelve, old enough to have a bit of muscle instead of baby fat but not old enough to be nearing puberty quite yet. His skin was a tawny tan, and his hair was honey-blond. His rounded ears stuck out comically. Underneath his coloration, though, his features bore a striking resemblance to Syaoran's, or at least what he had looked like at that age.

Keroberos opened his eyes and blinked; they were a deep golden amber now, the same shade as the shell. He looked around the small crowd. "Hey. Miss me much?" he asked, in a slightly deeper voice than before.

"Of course! Kero, why didn't you tell me?" Sakura blurted. Touya frowned and stepped away from the group.

"I didn't know it was going to happen," Keroberos explained. "Honestly, for the Sun-Guardians, I wasn't even sure it was possible. The last time it happened, I was stuck in the book." He looked up at Yukito. "I'm guessing that Yue knew what was going on?"

"Of course." Yukito closed his eyes and smiled gently. "Do you want to speak with him?"

"No, I don't," Keroberos said with surprising vehemence; Yukito's eyes flew open in surprise. "_He_ doesn't have anything to tell me. You, on the other hand, do." Keroberos pushed his hair out of his eyes. "I don't know anything about living in a human body. And it's not perfectly human, either, although it's close enough. Same as you."

Touya strode back into the room and threw a bundle of fabric at Kero's new form. "Obviously. Put some clothes on in front of my sister." Keroberos looked down at himself and blushed rose-red; Eriol chortled from the laptop's speakers as Sakura realized that Kero-chan - well, really Kero-kun, now - was naked, and went crimson herself.

"Uh, yeah. Stuff like that." Kero-kun quickly climbed into the bathrobe Touya had brought him. "I'm gonna need you to teach me."

Touya sighed. "So your little brother is coming to live with us for a while?"

"I guess that will do for a cover story," Yukito nodded. "Maybe we should move back into the house if there are going to be three of us."

"Maybe so. When does your renters' lease end?" Touya glanced at the calendar.

"Two months from now. I'll call them tonight." Yukito looked warmly at Kero-kun. "We'll have to get you clothes and enroll you in school. In that order, of course."

"I think," Tomoyo said with a finger raised to her chin, "that my mother's corporation might have just changed its boys' sportswear line. Many perfectly wearable clothes have been discontinued. Why don't I see if I can get some samples?"

Touya nodded. "Thanks." He'd obviously been concerned with how expensive the second guardian had just become.

"And in the meantime, there is cake," she pointed out, moving towards the table.

"Oh, boy! Cake!" shouted Kero-kun, racing past her and grabbing a fork.

"That's our Kero," Sakura smiled. Eriol nodded. Syaoran had a look between amusement and annoyance.

"Make sure to fill him in on the new card," Eriol prompted. "He'll need to familiarize himself with it."

"I will. I'm just so happy to have him back," Sakura said, grinning and reaching for a plate of her own. Yukito and Kero-kun were already halfway through their first slices. She looked at the little window on the computer, then at the two hidden guardians. "They really are brothers," she murmured, as Yukito explained to Kero-kun how to hold a fork with his fingers instead of his fist.

"And now Yuki and I have something else in common," said Touya, standing at her shoulder. She turned and smiled at him, then cut herself a slice of cake - and one for her brother, too.


End file.
